Australia, Indonesia in damage control after military spat

Indonesia and Australia sought to calm tensions on Thursday after Indonesia's military said it had suspended cooperation because of "insulting" teaching material found at an Australian base that questioned Jakarta's sovereignty in Papua province.

A day after the shock announcement by Indonesia's army chief, which seemed to blindside not only Australia but parts of President Joko Widodo's government, there was still confusion over the status of ties between the Asia-Pacific neighbours.

The countries have extensive military cooperation, which ranges from counter-terrorism cooperation to border protection,

President Widodo said ties with Australia were "still in a fine condition" and his defence minister and military chief had been asked to investigate.

"We have agreed, Indonesia, Australia, to respect each other, to value each other and not meddle in each other's domestic affairs," Widodo said.

There were still, however, contradictory messages.

Indonesia's chief security minister Wiranto said only cooperation related to the military's Australia-based language training program had been suspended.

But a statement from the office of Indonesia's state secretary said joint training, exchange of officers and bilateral visits had also been suspended.

Earlier, Indonesia's Armed Forces Chief Gatot Nurmantyo said training with Australia had been suspended and other areas of cooperation were being re-evaluated pending an investigation.